Shine a Light
Four men, a girl and a gay.
Like trapped dirt under a fingernail he stayed cemented in her train of thoughts. His demonic green eyes catching every inch of light that dispersed through the cogs in her brain. If only she had an ounce of courage to tell him the effect he had on her life.
I jotted the words down quickly on my notepad and looked up in time to see Marcus beaming at me as he walked through the glass doors of the lobby.
“Hey Vera darling, show me to those sexy boys.”
I cackled as we approached the elevator and headed upstairs where Green Day had a couple of rooms to record and write in.
“I bet the other guests love all that noise.” Marcus sighed.
“They’ve sound proofed the rooms apparently” I shrugged at him as the elevator stopped to let in an old woman on the second floor who nodded at us and pressed the ground floor. Marcus sighed in frustration as the elevator began to descend for the elderly lady instead of rising for us.
“Should have taken the stairs” He growled as the woman got out and the elevator rose upwards yet again.
I yawned, Billie and I had been talking till quite late last night and it was just after 2 when I had finally gotten to bed.
“Late night?” Marcus asked me, eyebrow rising as we left the elevator to the floor where the room with the studio was in.
“Mmmm, I and Billie were talking in the hotel bar.”
“Talking? Is that what they call it now? I have always referred to it as shagging till my brains fall out.”
I froze at Marcus’ words, “Did you just say that?” I gasped as he laughed, pulling me further down the corridor to the room.
We both stopped and stared at the door in front of us. Room 86, Marcus raised his eyebrows at me and gestured to knock. I inhaled and tapped my knuckles against the wood.
We waited for a few seconds in silence before the door flew open to reveal Tre grinning at me broadly.
“You came! Cool” he grinned bringing me in for a hug and igniting my nostrils to the aftershave he was wearing. I let go of Tre as he clutched onto my waist grinning at Marcus and thrusting him his hand
“Hi I’m Tre, I remember you from the bar, and you were giving me the eye if my memory serves me right”
Marcus’ mouth dropped as he shook Tre’s hand, “Err, yeah…I’m Marcus.” He blinked releasing the drummer’s grip and looking at me stunned.
I giggled; there weren’t many people who could leave Marcus speechless. As soon as I saw the room, my jaw dropped, it was filled with empty packets of food, chips and bottles that were scattered everywhere between papers and instruments.
“Holy Shit” Marcus spat as Tre grinned sitting down in front of a desk at the back of the room.
“You guys are defiantly straight huh?” Marcus frowned as Tre turned around from the desk where I presumed they recorded and mixed all the songs.
“Well I don’t know Marcus everyone’s a bit curious” he winked. Marcus froze again next to me and I giggled, Tre knew he had Marcus wrapped around his little finger. Jason came into the room from a white door to the left.
“Hey Vera” He smiled at me
“Hey Jason, this is Marcus” I giggled as I introduced the completely dumbstruck gay man standing next to me.
“Hey” Jason grinned handing Tre a piece of paper before turning back to us.
“Come to watch us hack at some songs yeah?” I nodded before giggling as Tre’s eyes scanned the paper then screwed it up and chucked it over his shoulder.
“Is there anywhere I can smoke?” I asked as Marcus rolled his eyes.
“Yeah through that door there’s a balcony” Jason pointed to where he had emerged from a few moments ago. I nodded at him and made for the door hearing Marcus say,
“It’ll kill her I’ve told her a thousand times…”
I shook my head and opened the door to reveal Mike standing over a king size bed clutching sheets of paper and talking in a stern tone to apparently no one.
His head shot up upon seeing me enter the room and he smiled at me almost forcefully,
“Hey Vera”
Suddenly a black spike popped up from the side of the bed and Billie’s grin appeared, he looked positively adorable.
“Hey Vera” He chuckled standing up and smoothing his blue Jack Daniels shirt down.
“I’m err just taking advantage of the balcony” I turned my head to the open French doors to my right and Billie and Mike both nodded.
“I’ll join you in a bit” Billie smiled. They both stood completely still like mice being watched by a cat as I walked past them and onto the balcony. I lit my cigarette and inhaled, glancing out at the view of the hotel gardens where Billie had sat next to me on the step two days ago. The step from here was clearly visible and a part of me wondered whether he had actually had a photo shoot in the gardens or he had seen me as he took a quick cigarette break and decided to come down, I dared to dream as the musician’s voices wafted through to the balcony.
“Dude just stop being a prick about it”
“Mike!”
“She’s not gonna go looking under the bed…unless you intend to use it and if you do don’t think I’m gonna stand for it coz I’ll ring Ad…”
“ALRIGHT, okay, okay”
I frowned at the words, I had no clue what they were talking about, and I started to doubt whether I should even be here. He was some random guy that I had spoken to a grand total of four times, only two of which were proper conversations, and it has led me to be standing here, not writing, not working, not looking for an apartment and defiantly not being my usual self.
“Got a light?”
I turned to see him standing next to me.
“Do you ever consider buying some matches or something for your tobacco habit?” I asked handing him a lighter.
“Nah, I’d rather ask pretty girls for one, it’s a conversation starter ya know”
I withheld a grin, “Oh so you do this often do you?”
He grinned at me and handed me back my lighter, “No.”
“Liar” I spat, “A girl in every town, in every port, you rock stars and your women, don’t think I don’t know”
Billie shook his head “In every port? I’m not a sailor”
I laughed, “Marcus would love you to be”
Billie chuckled as he flicked some loose ash over the balcony.
“He’ll be okay in there on his own?”
“With three men? He’ll be in paradise” he laughed again, his grin pinching at his eyes making them twinkle so vividly.
Silence erupted between us, it was awkward, I could tell that he was keeping something from me but I couldn’t pin point what. Maybe he was gay, maybe that’s why he had started talking to me in the first place he was after Marcus, not me. It’s not like it hasn’t happened before, I’ll like a guy who seems perfectly nice, sweet and attractive, the only downside being that he prefers dick.
However, with Billie, a part of me disagreed, that part of me happened to be my left arm that he was currently brushing against. It felt like I had known him for a lot longer than four days, the electricity encircling my whole left side told me that there was something special here and if he was so interested in Marcus then why would he be out here with me when Marcus was in the other room?
“V…err… Vera?”
I snapped up from my thoughts,
“Vera, you okay?” He asked as I stubbed out my cigarette and chucked it over the balcony.
“Yeah, Yeah I was just thinking that’s all.”
“New book?” He asked his eyes burning through mine, I turned from his gaze, not being able to hold his stare.
“No I was just thinking about nothing in particular. I really haven’t written anything of any relevance to what I planned”
Billie stubbed out the butt of his cigarette and stroked a hand through his hair,
“Maybe you shouldn’t plan your writing, just write what’s happening now, like you know, what was in your head then.”
I smiled at him, “Is that how you write?” Little did he know I usually wrote like that.
“Sometimes” he grinned.
“Think I could look at some of your stuff?”
“What stuff?” He asked eyebrows rising as we both turned to walk back into the room.
I snorted, “Your lyrics.”
“You got me excited then” Billie grinned opening the door for me to return to the room that resembled a garbage can but was now going to contain four men, a girl and a gay.
I jotted the words down quickly on my notepad and looked up in time to see Marcus beaming at me as he walked through the glass doors of the lobby.
“Hey Vera darling, show me to those sexy boys.”
I cackled as we approached the elevator and headed upstairs where Green Day had a couple of rooms to record and write in.
“I bet the other guests love all that noise.” Marcus sighed.
“They’ve sound proofed the rooms apparently” I shrugged at him as the elevator stopped to let in an old woman on the second floor who nodded at us and pressed the ground floor. Marcus sighed in frustration as the elevator began to descend for the elderly lady instead of rising for us.
“Should have taken the stairs” He growled as the woman got out and the elevator rose upwards yet again.
I yawned, Billie and I had been talking till quite late last night and it was just after 2 when I had finally gotten to bed.
“Late night?” Marcus asked me, eyebrow rising as we left the elevator to the floor where the room with the studio was in.
“Mmmm, I and Billie were talking in the hotel bar.”
“Talking? Is that what they call it now? I have always referred to it as shagging till my brains fall out.”
I froze at Marcus’ words, “Did you just say that?” I gasped as he laughed, pulling me further down the corridor to the room.
We both stopped and stared at the door in front of us. Room 86, Marcus raised his eyebrows at me and gestured to knock. I inhaled and tapped my knuckles against the wood.
We waited for a few seconds in silence before the door flew open to reveal Tre grinning at me broadly.
“You came! Cool” he grinned bringing me in for a hug and igniting my nostrils to the aftershave he was wearing. I let go of Tre as he clutched onto my waist grinning at Marcus and thrusting him his hand
“Hi I’m Tre, I remember you from the bar, and you were giving me the eye if my memory serves me right”
Marcus’ mouth dropped as he shook Tre’s hand, “Err, yeah…I’m Marcus.” He blinked releasing the drummer’s grip and looking at me stunned.
I giggled; there weren’t many people who could leave Marcus speechless. As soon as I saw the room, my jaw dropped, it was filled with empty packets of food, chips and bottles that were scattered everywhere between papers and instruments.
“Holy Shit” Marcus spat as Tre grinned sitting down in front of a desk at the back of the room.
“You guys are defiantly straight huh?” Marcus frowned as Tre turned around from the desk where I presumed they recorded and mixed all the songs.
“Well I don’t know Marcus everyone’s a bit curious” he winked. Marcus froze again next to me and I giggled, Tre knew he had Marcus wrapped around his little finger. Jason came into the room from a white door to the left.
“Hey Vera” He smiled at me
“Hey Jason, this is Marcus” I giggled as I introduced the completely dumbstruck gay man standing next to me.
“Hey” Jason grinned handing Tre a piece of paper before turning back to us.
“Come to watch us hack at some songs yeah?” I nodded before giggling as Tre’s eyes scanned the paper then screwed it up and chucked it over his shoulder.
“Is there anywhere I can smoke?” I asked as Marcus rolled his eyes.
“Yeah through that door there’s a balcony” Jason pointed to where he had emerged from a few moments ago. I nodded at him and made for the door hearing Marcus say,
“It’ll kill her I’ve told her a thousand times…”
I shook my head and opened the door to reveal Mike standing over a king size bed clutching sheets of paper and talking in a stern tone to apparently no one.
His head shot up upon seeing me enter the room and he smiled at me almost forcefully,
“Hey Vera”
Suddenly a black spike popped up from the side of the bed and Billie’s grin appeared, he looked positively adorable.
“Hey Vera” He chuckled standing up and smoothing his blue Jack Daniels shirt down.
“I’m err just taking advantage of the balcony” I turned my head to the open French doors to my right and Billie and Mike both nodded.
“I’ll join you in a bit” Billie smiled. They both stood completely still like mice being watched by a cat as I walked past them and onto the balcony. I lit my cigarette and inhaled, glancing out at the view of the hotel gardens where Billie had sat next to me on the step two days ago. The step from here was clearly visible and a part of me wondered whether he had actually had a photo shoot in the gardens or he had seen me as he took a quick cigarette break and decided to come down, I dared to dream as the musician’s voices wafted through to the balcony.
“Dude just stop being a prick about it”
“Mike!”
“She’s not gonna go looking under the bed…unless you intend to use it and if you do don’t think I’m gonna stand for it coz I’ll ring Ad…”
“ALRIGHT, okay, okay”
I frowned at the words, I had no clue what they were talking about, and I started to doubt whether I should even be here. He was some random guy that I had spoken to a grand total of four times, only two of which were proper conversations, and it has led me to be standing here, not writing, not working, not looking for an apartment and defiantly not being my usual self.
“Got a light?”
I turned to see him standing next to me.
“Do you ever consider buying some matches or something for your tobacco habit?” I asked handing him a lighter.
“Nah, I’d rather ask pretty girls for one, it’s a conversation starter ya know”
I withheld a grin, “Oh so you do this often do you?”
He grinned at me and handed me back my lighter, “No.”
“Liar” I spat, “A girl in every town, in every port, you rock stars and your women, don’t think I don’t know”
Billie shook his head “In every port? I’m not a sailor”
I laughed, “Marcus would love you to be”
Billie chuckled as he flicked some loose ash over the balcony.
“He’ll be okay in there on his own?”
“With three men? He’ll be in paradise” he laughed again, his grin pinching at his eyes making them twinkle so vividly.
Silence erupted between us, it was awkward, I could tell that he was keeping something from me but I couldn’t pin point what. Maybe he was gay, maybe that’s why he had started talking to me in the first place he was after Marcus, not me. It’s not like it hasn’t happened before, I’ll like a guy who seems perfectly nice, sweet and attractive, the only downside being that he prefers dick.
However, with Billie, a part of me disagreed, that part of me happened to be my left arm that he was currently brushing against. It felt like I had known him for a lot longer than four days, the electricity encircling my whole left side told me that there was something special here and if he was so interested in Marcus then why would he be out here with me when Marcus was in the other room?
“V…err… Vera?”
I snapped up from my thoughts,
“Vera, you okay?” He asked as I stubbed out my cigarette and chucked it over the balcony.
“Yeah, Yeah I was just thinking that’s all.”
“New book?” He asked his eyes burning through mine, I turned from his gaze, not being able to hold his stare.
“No I was just thinking about nothing in particular. I really haven’t written anything of any relevance to what I planned”
Billie stubbed out the butt of his cigarette and stroked a hand through his hair,
“Maybe you shouldn’t plan your writing, just write what’s happening now, like you know, what was in your head then.”
I smiled at him, “Is that how you write?” Little did he know I usually wrote like that.
“Sometimes” he grinned.
“Think I could look at some of your stuff?”
“What stuff?” He asked eyebrows rising as we both turned to walk back into the room.
I snorted, “Your lyrics.”
“You got me excited then” Billie grinned opening the door for me to return to the room that resembled a garbage can but was now going to contain four men, a girl and a gay.